Vital  Points  Touching  the  Public 
Schools  of  a Large  City 


AN  ADDRESS 


The  Public  Education  Association 


City  of  Philadelph 


Monday , “January , jgth , /poy 


Andrew  S 


per,  LL.D 


President  of  the  University  of  Illinois 


Philadelphia : 

Innes  & Sons,  200  South  Tenth  Street 


PRESIDENT  DRAPER 


X-'f.. 


President  Andrew  S.  Draper,  of  the  University  of 
Illinois,  has  had  an  unusual  educational  experience.  He 
was  born  on  a farm  in  central  New  York,  and  first 
attended  a primitive,  one-room,  country  school.  From 
seven  tb  fifteen  years  of  age  he  attended  a city  graded 
school.  Then  he  attended  and  graduated  from  an  “ Old 
Line  Academy/'  the  Albany  Academy.  He  taught  a 
year  in  the  Academy,  and  afterwards  was  principal  of  a 
graded  school  in  a country  town.  Taking  the  course  in 
the  Albany  Law  School  he  was  graduated,  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  practiced  law  for  fifteen  years.  In  the 
meantime  he  was  a member  of  the  Board  of  Education 
of  the  City  of  Albany  and  trustee  of  the  New  York  State 
Normal  College.  He  also  became  a member  of  the 
New  York  Legislature,  and  served  as  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  United  States  Court  which  heard  the  individual 
claims  against  the  Geneva  Award.  In  1886  he  was 
elected  by  the  New  York  Legislature  on  joint  ballot  to 
the  office  of  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction, 
and  served  two  terms,  or  six  years.  In  this  capacity  he 
was  a regent  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  a trustee  of  Cornell  University.  From  1892  to  1894 
he  was  Superintendent  of  Instruction  of  the  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  public  schools,  with  the  sole  power  to  appoint  and 
remove  teachers.  In  1894  he  was  called  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  University  of  Illinois,  which  at  that  time 
had  ninety  in  the  Faculty,  and  755  students,  and  which 
now  has  315  in  the  Faculty,  and  3,250  students.  In 
1889  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  upon  President 
Draper  by  Colgate  University,  and  in  1903  by  Columbia 
University.  . . : \ 


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Vital  Points  Touching  the  Public 
Schools  of  a Large  City. 

Mr.  President  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  ! 1 

LI  I i.  I / 

For  the  invitation  to  come  and  treat  of  public  school  in- 
terests in  this  great,  thrifty,  historic  city,  I tender  to  the 
Public  School  Association  my  cordial  thanks.  I have  re- 
sponded to  your  call  willingly,  for  the  subject  is  fascinating 
to  me,  and  I would  not  withhold  any  aid  which  I may  give  ; 
but  I may  say  truly  that  I have  come  with  misgivings,  for 
there  is  little  which  I may  say  which  has  not  been  said  better 
many  times  before. 

I would  hold  out  no  unwarranted  implications.  I know 
little  of  the  school  affairs  of  your  city.  I have  seen  some 
statements  in  the  daily  press  from  time  to  time  which  went  to 
show  that  some  matters  were  altogether  wrong,  and  I should 
not  expect  it  otherwise,  for  we  have  not  yet  entered  the  hal- 
cyon days  which  justify  expectation  of  perfect  organization 
and  ideal  administration  of  such  a trust  as  the  educational 
system  of  a mighty  city.  Very  likely  more  matters  are  wrong, 
and  more  thoroughly  wrong,  than  they  ought  to  be.  Even 
so,  it  would  doubtless  be  much  farther  from  the  truth  to  con- 
clude that  all  things  are  wrong. 

Beyond  a peradventure  the  truth  here,  as  in  other  great 
cities,  is  that  there  are  good  men,  and  weak  men,  and  possi- 
bly bad  men,  in  the  Board  of  Education  ; that  there  is  an  or- 
ganization ill  adapted  to  the  proper  management  of  the  busi- 
ness in  hand ; that  there  are  hundreds  of  capable  and  con- 
scientious teachers  struggling  against  a system  which  they 
think  unappreciative  and  unjust ; and  that  there  are  other 
teachers  working  for  nothing  but  their  monthly  stipend,  and 
without  any  sense  of  the  real  fascination  in  a teacher’s  work  ; 
and  that  the  whole  situation  is  unsatisfactory  to  the  public. 


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and  particularly  to  the  patrons  of  the  schools,  because  they 
know  there  are  some  evils  and  weaknesses  in  the  case,  and 
because  too  much  is  undertaken,  and  too  much  of  what  is  at- 
tempted is  not  understood. 

CONFIDENCE 

The  very  cornerstone  of  a satisfactory  school  system  is 
public  confidence  and  pride  in  it.  If  there  is  suspicion  that 
there  is  venality  in  the  school  board,  or  that  members  are 
making  political  plunder  of  the  most  sacred  common  inter- 
ests ; that  the  superintendent’s  office  is  not  equal  to  its  high 
trust,  or  is  run  down  by  opposing  forces  which  it  cannot  con- 
trol ; that  some  of  the  teaching  is  worthless,  and  some  of  the 
work  meaningless  ; there  can  be  little  hope  until  these  things 
are  cleared  up,  and  it  is  commonly  the  case  that  they  cannot 
be  cleared  up  except  through  an  indignant  outburst  and  a 
revolution.  If  there  is  want  of  public  confidence,  and  if  peace- 
ful remedies  cannot  be  enforced,  there  had  better  be  a revo- 
lution. Nothing  can  be  accomplished  until  a situation  is  de- 
veloped in  which  the  people  believe. 

THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION 

Much,  very  much  indeed,  depends  upon  the  spirit,  and 
outlook,  upon  the  policies  which  prevail  as  a matter  of  course 
and  without  comment,  in  the  Board  of  Education.  There  is 
no  other  public  position  in  which  a qualified  man,  with  a spirit 
that  rings  true,  may  render  such  important  public  service  as 
upon  a school  board  ; and  there  is  no  other  in  which  the  other 
kind  may  make  such  an  everlasting  hindrance  and  nuisance 
of  himself. 

The  position  is  in  a peculiar  way  prolific  of  misunder- 
standings and  temptation.  I do  not  refer  to  temptations  to 
commit  crimes.  A few  men  may  get  into  school  boards  only 
to  prove  that  they  ought  to  be  in  jails,  but  the  percentage  is 
exceedingly  small.  By  far  the  greater  number  mean  well 
enough,  and  if  they  stay  long  enough  many  of  them  get  edu- 
cated up  to  a sane  and  competent  public  service. 


It  never  seems  to  occur  to  any  American  citizen  that  he 
may  not  be  qualified  for  service  on  a school  board.  He  went 
to  school  once  : does  he  not  know  all  about  the  schools  ? 
He  may  never  have  acquired  or  managed  any  property  in  his 
life  ; but  does  he  not  know  just  how  to  care  for  the  millions 
in  charge  of  a school  board  ? He  may  never  have  built  a 
house  of  his  own  in  all  his  days  ; but  does  he  not  know  just 
how  and  just  where  to  build  the  next  schoolhouse  ? He  may 
not  have  been  in  a schoolhouse  in  thirty  years  ; but  does  he 
not  know  just  what  ought  to  be  done  and  how  it  ought  to  be 
done  ? Superintendents  and  teachers  are  a good  enough  sort 
of  folks,  according  to  his  ideas,  but  they  are  narrow  and  know 
little  of  affairs  and  need  superintending  and  teaching  by  some 
one  right  fresh  from  the  people.  He  has  a wrinkle  in  his 
head  that  there  is  a vast  lot  of  nonsense  in  the  schools  and 
that  their  work  needs  reforming  directly  from  headquarters. 
Moreover,  the  town  must  know  that  he  is  of  some  importance, 
and  the  way  to  have  that  understood  is  by  getting  jobs  for 
friends  who  want  them.  It  may  make  him  available  for  the 
legislature.  Quiet,  competent,  sympathetic  and  stimulating 
service  may  go  all  unnoticed.  He  must  have  individuality 
and  make  an  impression.  It  is  to  be  made  by  lording  it  over 
everybody  under  the  control  of  the  board  who  does  not  sue 
at  his  court,  and  by  losing  no  opportunity  to  reconstruct 
everything  that  was  ever  done  before  he  came. 

It  is  not  said  that  all  school  directors  are  of  this  stamp  ; 
it  is  said  that  enough  of  them  are  to  keep  most  school  sys- 
tems on  edge.  School  systems  are  sensitive  institutions.  One 
self-conceited  man  may  stir  up  more  in  a school  system  in  a 
month  than  a half  dozen  discerning  men  can  build  up  in  a 
year. 

Even  the  purely  business  side  of  school  administration 
demands  special  knowledge.  A modern  schoolhouse  is  a de- 
velopment. The  location,  the  construction,  or  the  care  of 
one  claims  the  unbiased  and  serious  judgment  of  men  who 
have  learned  much,  but  not  so  much  that  they  are  unwilling 
to  learn  much  more.  The  adjustment  of  salaries  is  a delicate 


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matter,  which  reaches  to  the  very  heart  of  things.  The  judg- 
ment which  can  control  the  purchase  of  supplies,  and  keep 
out  all  scandals,  will  have  to  be  a sharp  and  alert,  an  expe- 
rienced and  balanced  one.  The  character  which  can  level  up 
the  revenues  of  the  schools  to  the  needs  and  means  of  a com- 
munity, which  can  secure  enough  money  to  ensure  results 
which  appeal  to  the  common  pride,  and  then  can  spend  it  so 
wisely  as  to  get  those  results  and  meet  the  exactions  of  men 
who  know  the  value  of  money  is  a character  which  already 
has  some  successes  to  its  credit,  and  did  not  begin  to  think 
about  school  problems  yesterday. 

If  the  business  side  of  school  administration  calls  for 
some  special  knowledge,  the  instructional  side  demands  in- 
finitely more.  The  laying  out  of  the  course  of  study,  the 
creation  of  a pedagogical  atmosphere,  the  development  of  a 
happy,  enthusiastic  and  self-respecting  body  of  teachers,  and 
the  making  of  an  organization  which  will  inspire  pupils,  give 
latent  genius  its  chance  and  assure  the  just  rights  of  all  the 
parents  and  children  in  a great  city,  is  the  heavy  task  of  a 
man  of  good  heart  and  quick  mind,  who  has  given  years  of 
serious  study  to  the  problems  involved  and  who  is  too  sane 
to  be  a doctrinaire,  who  can  recognize  merit  and  do  justice, 
who  has  been  seasoned  by  contact  with  affairs  and  can  endure 
much,  but  who  knows  where  the  vital  points  are  and  will 
not  let  them  be  trampled  upon  by  the  rough  foot  of  political 
or  official  power,  and  who,  if  necessity  arises,  can  go  straight 
to  the  people  with  a case  which  will  command  respect.  The 
man  who  can  do  this  is  an  expert  so  rare  that  in  this  country 
of  eighty  millions  of  people  there  is  hardly  one  of  him  in  a 
million  ; with  our  fast  growing  cities  there  are  not  enough 
like  him  to  go  around. 

I am  not  overlooking  the  importance  of  popular  influ- 
ence upon  the  instructional  work  of  the  schools.  The  best 
of  superintendents  and  teachers  are  made  better  by  the  com- 
munity feeling,  if  it  is  expressed  through  men  and  women 
who  really  represent  discretion,  the  sense  of  justice  and  the 
sympathetic  feeling  of  the  people.  The  schools  cannot  be 


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efficient  and  adaptable  without  it.  The  ideal  arrangement  is 
a scholarly,  experienced,  sane  and  conscientious  superintend- 
ent, working  in  accord  with  a board  of  genuine  men  and 
women  who  truly  stand  for  the  better  intelligence  of  both  the 
operators  and  the  wage  earners  of  the  community.  Such  a 
board  and  such  a superintendent,  discussing  the  interests  of 
the  schools  in  quiet  tones,  without  excitement  because  with- 
out selfishnesss,  constitute  a force  in  the  life  of  a people 
v/hich  claims  the  best  efforts  of  all  who  have  a shade  of  civic 
pride  or  the  least  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  mass. 

THE  TEACHING  FORCE 

Boards  of  education  are  appointed  and  buildings  erected 
and  superintendents  employed  to  the  end  that  the  children 
of  a city  may  be  taught.  There  is  teaching  as  clear  and  as 
full  of  sparkle  and  progress  as  a mountain  stream,  and  there 
is  teaching  as  dense  and  heavy  and  lifeless  as  an  old  log 
which  has  fallen  across  that  stream  and  is  going  back  to 
earth  again.  It  all  depends  upon  the  teachers.  And  the 
teachers  depend  upon  the  system  and  upon  the  forces  which 
give  tone  and  strength  and  energy  to  the  system. 

The  teachers  are  for  the  most  part  women.  It  is  not  so 
in  other  lands,  but  it  is  so  and  it  is  going  to  be  so  here.  I 
am  sorry  for  a boy  who  has  no  other  teacher  but  a woman, 
no  matter  how  good  a woman  or  how  good  a teacher  she 
may  be,  but  it  is  better  so  than  that  his  teacher  shall  be  a 
narrow  or  effeminate  man,  and  the  alternative  seems  inevita- 
ble. Women  teachers  are  more  conscientious  and  more  sen- 
sitive than  men.  They  are  specially  responsive  to  the  tone 
and  spirit  and  ideals  of  a school  system.  This  is  true 
whether  the  tone  is  good  or  bad,  or  the  ideals  high  or  low. 
They  are  not  only  quickly  responsive  but  they  are  keen  in 
their  perceptions  and  intuitions.  It  is  a fact  which  has  great 
potentiality  in  it  and  it  is  to  be  reckoned  with. 

If  the  women  teachers  of  a city  can  know  that  merit  will 
be  appreciated,  and  that  promotion  will  be  its  reward,  they 
will  act  upon  the  knowledge  with  even  more  impulsiveness 

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and  energy  than  men.  If  culture  commands  recognition  and 
artistic  teaching  gains  approval  they  will  grow*  in  culture  and 
in  power.  If  even-handed  justice  prevails,  they  will  work 
quietly  and  steadily,  content  to  bide  their  time  and  take  their 
chance. 

And  platitudes  will  not  deceive  them.  They  know 
what  is  going  on  at  headquarters  even  when  they  are  not 
there,  and  even  in  the  face  of  denials,  for  the  evidences  are 
unmistakable  and  the  knowledge  at  once  becomes  common 
throughout  the  whole  system.  They  will  look  upon  the  ad- 
vance of  an  associate  without  heartburnings  where  there  is 
reasonable  ground  for  it.  But  if  appointments  are  brought 
about  through  influence,  if  one  who  cannot  teach  fares  better 
than  one  who  can,  if  promotions  turn  upon  favoritism,  they 
will  either  sink  discouraged  into  a lifeless  and  heartless 
routine  or  their  impulsiveness  and  intensiveness  will  lead 
them  to  even  more  unconscionable  lengths  than  most  men 
will  go,  to  reach  the  ends  which  unconscionable  practices 
may  gain. 

Teaching  is  of  little  worth  if  it  is  not  free.  It  cannot 
be  free  in  the  hands  of  untrained  persons  who  follow  it  only 
for  a living.  Nor  can  it  be  free  in  the  hands  of  teachers 
soured  by  injustice.  It  cannot  be  free  in  the  hands  of  one 
who  relies  upon  some  kind  of  secret  influence  to  keep  her  in 
place.  For  such  there  must  be  rules  and  much  governing 
and  directing  to  prevent  wrongs  which  even  a long-suffering 
public  will  not  stand. 

A school  system  is  no  stronger  than  its  weakest  part. 
If  there  is  one  opening  in  the  dyke  which  some  one  with 
ample  authority  is  not  trying  vehemently  to  close,  enough 
water  will  rush  in  to  wash  everything  down  to  the  dead  level 
of  indifference  and  mediocrity. 

A school  system  is  a thing  of  life.  It  is  a wonderfully 
sensitive  thing.  It  does  not  long  stand  still.  It  is  steadily 
growing  finer  and  stronger  or  coarser  and  weaker.  If  condi- 
tions prevail  which  breed  jealousy  and  bitterness,  the  case  is 
hopeless  until  they  are  completely  removed,  or  at  least  until 

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it  is  well  understood  that  the  way  is  opening  for  their  re- 
moval. 

THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  PEOPLE 

The  public  point  of  view  is  too  often  overlooked  by  the 
men  and  women  of  the  schools.  The  most  cherished  desire 
in  a parent’s  heart  is  that  his  children  maybe  better  educated 
than  he  was.  For  this  no  sacrifices  are  too  heavy  for  him. 
To  this  end  he  will  labor  with  music  in  his  soul  and  find 
abundant  recompense  in  the  intellectual  progress  of  his 
household.  But  sometimes  he  wonders.  He  hears  much  of 
modern  educational  theories  and  of  surprising  methods  in  the 
schools.  He  is  made  to  know  that  of  the  making  of  school- 
books there  is  no  end.  He  is  by  no  means  an  ignorant  man  ; 
he  has  read  and  worked,  and  such  men  know  some  things. 
But  he  hears  things  through  his  children  that  he  never  heard 
of  before.  He  must  not  doubt  the  superior  knowledge  of 
the  schools,  however,  and  he  puts  away  his  incredulity. 
By  and  by  something  happens  which  makes  it  necessary  for 
him  to  see  the  teacher,  and  then  he  finds  himself  in  contact 
with  a force  which  is  of  the  utmost  moment  to  him,  but 
which  is  indifferent  to  his  rights  or  powerless  to  assure  them. 

A mother  of  refinement  sends  her  children  to  the  public 
schools.  The  family  circumstances  hardly  warrant  sending 
them  to  private  schools,  and  beyond  that  she  has  some 
patriotic  sentiment  about  the  matter.  She  wants  to  believe 
in  the  public  schools  and  support  them.  She,  moreover, 
wants  to  be  on  terms  with  the  teacher  of  her  children  to  the 
end  that  she  may  give  commendation  and  support  where  it  is 
due,  and  that  they  may  work  understanding^  together.  To 
her  surprise  she  finds  a woman  far  below  her  standards  of 
womanly  sympathy,  tact  and  culture.  She  cannot  subject 
her  girls  to  such  an  influence  and  such  teaching  as  that. 
But  what  is  she  to  do  ? If  she  seeks  remedy  she  is  more 
than  likely  to  find  that  there  is  none. 

It  Fas  often  seemed  to  me  that  there  is  no  sort  of  a civic 
or  political  organization  in  this  country  so  fortified  against  the 
enforcement  of  a citizen’s  right  as  a school  organization  which 

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has  grown  to  large  proportions  on  the  old  lines  and  has  not 
yet  been  brought  to  terms  of  centralized  authority  and  re- 
sponsibility. You  may  start  out  to  redress  a wrong  which  is 
wearing  your  life  at  its  best  parts.  It  is  not  a question  of 
public  policy,  but  of  an  individual  citizen’s  right.  You  com- 
mence with  the  teacher ; she  refers  you  to  the  principal ; he 
advises  you  to  see  the  supervisor ; that  official  passes  you 
along  to  the  superintendent ; he  would  likely  aid  you  if  he 
could,  but  he  knows  very  well  he  cannot,  and  suggests  that 
you  carry  the  matter  to  a trustee  or  a committee ; and  there 
you  are  told  that  it  is  a matter  for  the  whole  board,  and  the 
board  is  utterly  beyond  you.  If  the  truth  were  told,  you  are 
thwarted,  your  rights  are  denied  by  reason  of  political  or  per- 
sonal influence,  which  is  not  only  ignorant  and  selfish,  but 
resentful  and  spiteful.  Anyone  in  official  position  who  op- 
poses it  is  likely  to  feel  its  fang.  And  the  whole  thing  is  so 
arranged  that  no  one  dare  help  you  ; no  one  has  the  author- 
ity to  help  you  ; and  no  one  who  refuses  you  justice  in  a just 
cause  can  be  called  to  account  for  it. 

It  is  not  implied  that  the  men  and  women  along  this  official 
line  you  have  traveled  are  all  vicious.  There  is  wickedness 
somewhere  in  the  business,  but  these  people  would,  for  the 
most  part,  be  glad  to  be  released  from  it.  The  trouble  is  in 
the  fact  that  the  system  is  more  irresponsible  and  vicious  than 
the  people  are  who  administer  it.  It  is  hospitable  to  flagrant 
and  insidious  evils  which  no  power  short  of  the  legislative 
power  of  the  state,  or  the  aroused  and  indignant  political 
power  of  a community  can  drive  out. 

Our  fathers  were  more  accustomed  than  we  are  to  call 
the  schools  “ the  common  schools.”  It  was  a good  term  ; it 
grew  out  of  a fact,  and  it  implied  much.  It  would  be  well  to 
go  back  to  the  name  and  give  new  emphasis  to  the  fact.  If 
the  schools  are  to  become  the  schools  of  the  poor  who  can 
afford  no  other,  if  they  are  to  become  the  schools  of  the  un- 
fortunate who  do  not  know  their  rights  or  cannot  assert  them, 
if  they  are  to  irritate  the  well-to-do,  who  must  support  them 
without  direct  benefits,  if  they  are  to  make  for  the  segrega- 

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tion  of  classes  rather  than  serve  as  a bond  of  union  between 
all  citizens,  then  a unique  and  cherished  ideal  of  our  demo- 
cratic life  is  being  overthrown,  and  an  evil  day  is  coming 
upon  us. 

We  will  not  believe  it.  Our  democracy  has  harder  prob- 
lems than  in  the  days  of  our  fathers,  but  we  understand  those 
problems  more  clearly  and  are  better  able  to  meet  them  than 
they.  The  shaping  and  the  management  of  institutions  by 
the  people  must  encounter  some  difficulties  that  would  never 
appear  to  a minister  or  a cabinet,  but  in  the  end  it  is  better. 
The  popular  will  is  slower  than  the  will  of  one  man  in  acting, 
but  when  it  does  act  it  is  more  forceful,  more  steadfast,  more 
pervasive.  The  exercise  of  the  democratic  principle  is  educa- 
tive in  itself.  The  mass  slowly,  steadily,  rises  to  the  enforce- 
ment of  principles  which  it  accepts.  Democracy  learns  to  do 
by  doing. 

Educational  equality,  schools  common  to  all,  at  whatever 
pains  and  at  whatever  cost,  is  a doctrine  universally  accepted 
in  America.  The  people  will  make  that  doctrine  a living  fact 
in  our  democratic  life.  It  is  being  put  to  its  severest  test  in 
the  great  cities  where  such  vast  amounts  are  involved  and 
greed  is  so  rampant,  where  so  many  teachers  are  required  and 
the  children  are  so  unlike,  but  even  those  cities  are  rising  to 
their  great  task,  and  they  will  be  no  exception  to  the  universal 
rule. 

New  and  higher  standards  are  appearing  in  the  school 
systems  of  our  largest  cities.  Look  upon  the  stately  and 
healthful  buildings  of  the  newer  type,  good  enough  for  the 
very  best,  and  therefore  good  enough  for  all.  The  City  of 
New  York  has  not  always  been  in  a position  to  claim  com- 
mendation for  the  situation  and  the  work  of  its  schools,  but 
that  city  has  in  the  last  two  or  three  years  made  a notable 
contribution  to  the  architecture,  the  hygiene,  and  the  decora- 
tion of  the  large  city  schoolhouse.  And  I would  not  imply 
that  that  is  the  measure  of  its  contribution.  There  is  abund- 
ant reason  to  believe  that  its  early  contribution,  under  a 
capable  and  free  superintendent,  to  the  organization  and  the 


9 


administration  of  the  schools  will  be  no  less  notable.  What 
is  possible  in  that  city  of  rampant  and  unclean  politics  is  quite 
possible  in  any  other  American  city. 

But  it  is  possible  only  through  an  understanding  by  the 
citizen  of  what  he  ought  to  expect  and  what  his  rights  are  in 
the  schools,  and  then  through  agitation  and  combination 
which  will  secure  needed  legislation  and  an  organization  which 
will  make  those  things  possible. 

WHAT  TO  DEMAND 

Every  citizen  is  bound  to  demand  that  within  easy  reach 
of  his  door  there  shall  be  a school  building  which  is  substan- 
tial, attractive  and  healthful.  He  has  the  right  to  expect 
that  in  that  building  there  shall  be  a corps  of  teachers  of 
capacity  and  culture,  with  teaching  power  and  quick  interest 
in  his  child.  Refinement,  truth,  strength,  industry  and 
patriotism  must  all  grow  under  that  roof.  He  has  the  right 
to  expect  that  that  building  and  those  teachers  shall  be  free 
from  partisan  or  sectarian  influence,  and  that  all  that  is 
done  there  shall  bind  all  good  citizens  together  in  a patriotic 
league  and  make  for  the  intellectual  and  ethical  quickening 
of  society.  If  in  any  particular  it  is  not  so,  he  has  the  right 
to  know  just  where  he  may  go  to  an  experienced  and  cap- 
able officer,  with  ample  authority,  responsible  to  nobody  but 
the  community  he  serves,  the  law  which  sustains  him,  and  the 
intelligence  and  conscience  which  guide  him,  and  have  imme- 
diate attention  to  his  complaint  and  quick  redress,  if  his  com- 
plaint be  a reasonable  one. 

HOW  TO  GET  IT 

If  this  is  not  already  so,  it  is  to  be  brought  about  through 
direct  appeals  to  the  people  until  the  common  sentiment  is 
quickened  to  a revolt,  and  then  through  a school  organiza- 
tion which  differentiates  legislative  and  executive  functions, 
which  gives  business  matters  to  business  men,  and  instruc- 
tional matters  to  teachers,  which  centralizes  authority  and 
responsibility  for  doing  things  in  individuals,  and  is  amply 
protected  against  influence. 


io 


We  have  less  confidence  in  the  crowd  than  we  ought. 
The  men  and  women  who  have  descended  from  the  earlier 
American  families  are  not  the  only  ones  who  are  interested  in 
the  American  schools.  Nor  are  the  men  and  women  who  live 
in  costly  houses  the  only  ones  interested  in  the  schools  by  any 
means.  It  often  happens  that  one  of  the  new  families  has  a 
keener  appreciation  of  school  privileges  than  one  of  the  old  fam- 
ilies, and  that  the  strongest  supporters  of  the  school  system  are 
the  men  who  live  in  moderate  circumstances.  Sectarianism 
cannot  come  into  the  schools,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
interests  of  the  schools  shall  not  be  carried  to  the  religious 
denominations.  A public  school  talk  at  a Presbyterian  club, 
or  a Methodist  league,  or  a Roman  Catholic  lyceum  is  often 
welcome  and  always  counts.  A discussion  of  the  true  inter- 
ests of  the  common  schools  before  a labor  union  always  de- 
velopes  a quick  interest  and  often  an  aggressive  response. 
Gatherings  of  the  people  in  the  schoolhouses  germinate  pub- 
lic school  enthusiasm  and  strengthen  the  foundations  of  the 
school  system.  You  may  often  see  things  which  make  you 
doubt,  but  there  is  virtue  and  honest  desire  among  the  people, 
and  if  you  agitate  the  mass,  the  good  and  true  will  come  to 
the  surface,  and  if  you  gather  and  direct  it,  it  will  bear  down 
the  combined  forces  of  evil. 

There  is  to  be  no  politics  in  the  schools,  but  the  inter- 
ests of  the  schools  must  often  go  into  assemblages  where 
politics  is  rampant.  The  schools  are  very  commonly  admin- 
istered by  men  and  women  who  are  in  official  position  as  the 
result  of  political  action  and  partisan  choice.  It  often  hap- 
pens that  these  people  do  things  which  they  would  not  do  if 
they  were  free.  Public  sentiment  must  set  up  standards  and 
create  an  organization  which  will  not  only  free  them  but  pun- 
ish them  if  they  put  the  law  on  sale  or  make  plunder  of 
sacred  rights. 

I am  a partisan.  I believe  in  politics.  I know  the  need 
of  organization.  But  if  the  men  who  make  such  boast  of 
party  loyalty  without  being  as  true  as  I am  to  principles  for 
which  the  party  stands,  if  the  men  who  give  their  days  and 


ii 


nights  to  managing  “the  organization”  and  seem  to  think 
that  party  machinery  is  to  be  supported  by  plundering  the 
whole  people,  do  not  take  their  hands  off  the  public  schools 
and  help  on  legislation  which  will  give  the  common  schools 
their  best  opportunity,  I would  take  all  the  chances  of  throw- 
ing my  vote  and  of  bearing  a hand  at  politics  in  a way  which 
they  would  be  very  quick  to  understand.  A small  measure 
of  manhood  independence,  a reasonable  exercise  of  a free- 
man’s right  has  a surprising  effect  in  the  back  room  of  a po- 
litical machine. 

LINES  OF  ACTION 

But  no  matter  how  much  sentiment  may  be  aroused,  it 
must  act  upon  rational  lines.  A few  men  of  good  standing 
who  have  thought  things  out  to  a conclusion  and  can  mar- 
shall the  facts  and  the  reasons  in  ways  which  appeal  to  pub- 
lic sentiment,  and  who  know  how  to  enable  public  sentiment 
to  have  its  way  are  of  more  moment  in  the  educational  affairs 
of  a great  city  than  thousands  of  indignant  and  unorganized 
men  who  do  not  know  just  what  they  want  and  do  not  see 
how  to  get  something  which  will  be  of  advantage  to  them. 

The  school  system  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  is  not 
wholly  or  exclusively  an  affair  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 
It  is  a matter,  and  a very  large  matter,  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania. The  interest  of  the  whole  State  is  immediate,  and 
the  authority  of  the  whole  State  is  imperative.  The  school 
system  rests  upon  the  high  power  of  taxation,  and  that 
power  is  exercised  by  act  of  the  Legislature  which  sits  at  Har- 
risburg. The  power  which  may  tax  is  bound  to  regulate 
expenditures.  But  that  is  not  all.  State  legislation  govern- 
ing the  schools  does  not  invade  the  principle  of  home  rule. 
The  common  school  system  is  in  no  sense  a local  system. 
The  schools  in  the  largest  cities  are  subject  to  the  same 
authority  as  the  schools  in  the  mountain  regions.  That 
authority  may  administer  them  under  one  set  of  legal  regu- 
lations and  by  one  class  of  officers  in  one  place  and  by 
other  regulations  and  other  officers  in  another  place,  but 
they  never  cease  to  be  the  common  schools  of  the  State.  The 


12 


State  sets  up  the  machinery  to  make  certain  that  schools  of 
suitable  character  are  maintained  in  all  places.  If  any  city 
or  district  has  the  will  and  the  wealth  to  go  farther  than  the 
State  requires,  no  one  objects,  but  all  cities  and  all  districts 
must  go  as  far.  The  legislative  power  has  the  clear  au- 
thority and  is  charged  with  the  manifest  responsibility  of 
legislating  upon  the  administration  of  the  whole  system. 
This  is  an  important  principle  in  public  school  administration. 
It  has  been  established  by  consistent  and  harmonious  legal 
action  in  practically  all  of  the  States  where  the  question  has 
become  the  subject  of  legislation  or  of  judicial  determina- 
tion. I have  no  doubt  of,  indeed  I think  I recall,  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania  to  this  effect.  Legisla- 
tion regulating  the  administration  of  the  schools  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  is  logical  and  in  accord  with  the  established  and 
legal  order  of  things  underlying  the  common  school  system. 

New  legislation  is  needed  unless  there  has  been  radical 
action  since  the  city  came  to  such  large  proportions  and  the 
schools  to  such  great  importance.  The  trouble  in  many 
school  systems  is  that  the  business  to  be  managed  has  alto- 
gether outgrown  the  organization  for  managing  it.  There  are 
school  boards  in  a dozen  American  cities  managing  more 
property,  spending  more  money  and  making  more  appoint- 
ments to  positions  than  is  the  case  with  the  governments  in  a 
dozen  American  States.  Those  boards  very  commonly  are 
without  specific  legal  directions  and  without  check  upon  their 
action.  Often  the  members  are  without  public  experience. 
Reasoning  that  they  owe  something  to  a party  which  gave 
them  place,  anxious  to  show  their  neighbors  that  they  can 
bring  about  results,  they  stagger  along  through  a devious 
course  which  makes  fraud  quite  possible  and  certainly  pro- 
motes confusion,  injustice  and  inefficiency  in  all  the  opera- 
tions of  the  schools. 

PRINCIPLES  TO  BE  UPHELD 

This  is  not  a place  for  me  to  attempt  to  present  legisla- 
tive measures  for  the  good  of  a school  system  of  whose  con- 


13 


ditions  I have  very  little  exact  knowledge.  Nor  is  it  the 
place  to  lay  down  principles  about  which  experienced  men 
unselfishly  interested  in  the  schools  would  have  differences 
or  misgivings.  But  it  may  doubtless  be  said  with  conserva- 
tism that  the  following  principles  must  be  asserted,  must  be 
enforceable  by  law  before  the  educational  rights  of  the  people 
can  have  any  promise  of  being  satisfied  : 

1.  The  Board  of  Education  must  be  small  in  numbers 
and  the  members  must  not  be  chosen  by  or  for  a district  of 
the  city,  but  must  represent  all  the  people  and  every  educa- 
tional interest  of  the  city. 

2.  There  must  be  a complete  separation  of  legislative 
and  executive  functions.  The  board  must  have  legislative 
powers  only.  Its  functions  should  be  discharged  by  passing 
resolutions  to  be  entered  in  full  upon  its  published  journal. 
It  must  have  no  appointments,  at  least  it  must  not  have  the 
initiative  concerning  any  appointments  beyond  its  clerk  and 
the  heads  of  business  and  instructional  departments. 

3.  The  actual  doing  of  things  must  be  left  to  executive 
officers.  At  least  two  executive  departments  are  necessary, 
one  to  manage  the  business  affairs  and  the  other  the  instruc- 
tion. The  two  must  be  sharply  separated.  These  two  de- 
partments must  each  have  a strong  and  experienced  man  at 
its  head,  and  he  must  have  free  and  ample  powers  and  must 
be  held  responsible. 

4.  The  head  of  the  business  department  must  be  charged 
with  the  appointment  of  all  clerks,  janitors  and  employees, 
with  the  care  of  all  property  and  with  the  making  and  exe- 
cution of  all  contracts.  He  should  have  nothing  to  do  with 
passing  resolutions  and  the  board  nothing  to  do  with  exe- 
cuting them.  His  term  of  office  should  be  a long  one  and 
the  law  should  amply  protect  him.  He  should  get  his  direc- 
tions from  the  law  and  the  resolutions,  and  he  should  never 
be  able  to  plead  that  he  lacked  authority  or  means  to  execute 
the  high  functions  of  his  office.  He  should  be  directed  by 
law  to  make  all  his  appointments  wholly  irrespective  of  po- 
litical, official  or  other  influence  and  wholly  upon  business 


14 


principles.  His  appointments  should  be  for  an  indefinite 
time.  For  any  acts  or  any  neglects  which  violate  his  direc- 
tions he  should  be  removable  by  the  three-fourths  vote  of  the 
board  and  punishable  by  the  courts. 

5.  The  Superintendent  of  Instruction  should  be  chosen 
for  his  learning,  his  special  knowledge  of  good  pedagogy, 
his  intellectual  forcefulness,  his  steadiness,  his  rational  outlook 
and  sense  of  justice,  his  good  nature  and  stout  backbone, 
his  experience  in  administration,  his  gifts  for  construction 
and  his  ability  to  make  himself  the  best  representative  and 
exponent  of  common  school  interests  of  a cosmopolitan  com- 
munity. Few  men  meet  these  specifications  ; but  there  are 
some  who  do.  The  man  who  comes  nearest  to  it  and  who 
is  available  should  be  found,  and  the  conditions  should  be 
fixed  so  as  to  bring  him  to  the  high  opportunity  and  the 
great  service.  The  fact  that  he  was  not  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  been  born  or  to  have  lived  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  or 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  should  not  be  an  insurmountable 
obstacle  to  his  appointment. 

6.  The  Superintendent  of  Instruction  must  have  his 
status  fixed  by  law  and  not  left  to  the  caprice  of  a board. 
Up  to  this  time  he  has  been  left  almost  wholly  without  legal 
protection  against  conditions  which  must  wear  his  life  to  the 
breaking  point  and  surely  overwhelm  him  if  his  physical  or 
official  life  lasted  until  the  situation  grew  large  enough.  He 
must  have  a definite  and  long  tenure  of  office  with  free  pow- 
ers and  full  accountability.  The  members  of  the  board  must 
know  that  they  are  not  expected  to  have  his  expert  knowl- 
edge or  wide  experience,  and  that  they  are  not  to  appoint  or 
meddle  with  or  redress  the  grievances  or  aid  the  personal 
interests  of  teachers.  If  they  are  not  large-minded  enough 
to  help  him  make  his  success  possible  they  are  to  be  pro- 
hibited by  law  from  doing  things  which  must  humiliate  and 
in  the  end  overthrow  him. 

7.  The  Superintendent  of  Instruction  is  to  be  charged 
with  building  up  a competent,  right-spirited,  enthusiastic 
teaching  force.  If  there  is  a bad  spirit  or  worthless  teaching 

15 


in  any  public  schoolroom  in  the  city  he  must  be  made  to 
answer  for  it.  To  enable  him  to  bear  this  great  responsibility 
I think  he  should  have  the  absolute  power  to  appoint,  assign 
to  work  and  remove  teachers.  If  a community  will  not  go 
to  this  length  it  may  compromise  upon  appointments  being 
made  by  a board  of  examiners  or  assistant  superintendents, 
or  probably  by  the  Board  of  Education  upon  the  recommen- 
dation of  the  Superintendent,  but  I think  experience  amply 
shows  these  compromise  expedients  to  invade  a sound  prin- 
ciple and  provide  only  partial  remedies  of  a rampant  evil. 
At  all  events  there  is  no  hope  at  all  unless  the  right  of 
initiative  concerning  appointments  upon  the  instructional  force 
is  clearly  with  the  Superintendent  and  the  power  of  removal 
is  his  absolutely.  When  one  man  has  the  responsibility  of 
appointments  he  will  guard  admissions  to  the  teaching  ser- 
vice. A teacher,  no  matter  how  unfit,  who  has  not  com- 
mitted some  overt  act  positively  criminal  or  immoral,  can 
never  be  removed  when  it  is  left  to  the  affirmative  action  of 
a board.  No  one  finds  pleasure  in  removing  a teacher,  but 
when  one  experienced  man  must  take  the  matter  upon  his 
conscience  and  answer  to  the  high  interests  that  are  at  stake 
he  will  let  judgment  and  conscience  have  their  way. 

8.  There  must  be  recognition  of  artistic  teaching  in  all 
the  lower  as  well  as  in  the  upper  grades.  There  must  be 
promotion  on  the  basis  of  merit.  There  must  be  advance  of 
pay  with  length  of  competent  service.  Self-respecting  inde- 
pendence must  be  encouraged.  There  must  be  opportunity 
for  the  play  of  individual  genius  through  freedom  in  the 
teaching.  The  point  of  equipoise  between  individualism  and 
safe  general  results  must  be  found.  Self-seeking  must  be  re- 
pelled and  self-improvement  exacted.  There  must  be  a lead- 
ership which  commands  respect  and  carries  the  whole  mass 
into  the  very  heart  of  a community’s  regard.  There  is  not 
much  hope  of  real  excellence  unless  every  teacher  is  proud 
to  be  associated  with  the  system  and  unless  every  true  citizen 
feels  like  removing  his  hat  to  one  who  is. 

9.  There  must  be  publicity  about  all  that  is  done.  The 

16 


purposes  and  the  plans  for  attaining  them  must  be  published 
and  declared.  For  example,  the  Superintendent  will  make  no 
appointment  unless  fixed  standards  of  intellectual  qualifications 
are  reached.  He  must  also  exact  pedagogical  training.  A 
city  which  would  have  a school  system  of  marked  excellence 
must  be  training  teachers  for  its  own  service.  This  much 
must  precede  a trial : then  a continuing  appointment  must 
wait  upon  proved  success.  It  must  all  be  explained  again 
and  again.  It  must  all  be  kept  in  print  ready  for  convenient 
distribution.  The  system  must  have  policies  of  its  own  and 
be  assertive,  even  aggressive  about  them.  Of  course  its  poli- 
cies must  be  open  and  above  board,  and  it  must  adhere  to 
them  without  any  exceptions.  There  are  men  who  think  that 
published  policies  are  only  to  throw  dust  in  the  eyes  of  the 
public  ; that  there  are  to  be  secret  passages  and  dark-lantern 
processes  to  gain  selfish  ends.  If  there  are  any,  the  whole 
system  will  know  it,  and  the  wrhole  enterprise  will  be  stranded. 
If  there  is  complete  integrity  about  it,  the  teaching  will  have 
new  life  in  it  and  the  spirit  of  the  force  will  rise  with  a bound. 

io.  The  city  must  treat  its  teachers  with  full  justice.  It 
must  not  provoke  movements  for  self-protection  among  the 
teachers.  It  must  leave  no  excuse  for  organizations  to  in- 
crease pay  and  control  the  policies  or  the  officers  of  the  sys- 
tem. Organizations  for  self-improvement  are  all  right ; 
organizations  for  selfish  ends  are  all  wrong.  There  should 
be  no  just  ground  for  them,  and  where  there  is  none,  they 
should  not  be  allowed.  With  a weak  administration,  honey- 
combed with  favoritism  and  injustice,  they  will  germinate 
naturally  and  have  to  be  allowed.  All  these  things  are  ear- 
marks of  the  soundness  or  of  the  decrepitude  of  a school  system. 

CENTRALIZATION 

Some  will  object  that  there  is  too  much  centralization  of 
power  in  all  this.  There  is  much,  but  no  more  than  condi- 
tions demand  and  experience  makes  imperative.  Moreover, 
we  have  had  some  very  confused  notions  about  the  rights  of 
the  citizen.  He  has  the  right  to  good  schools,  not  the  right 

17 


to  organize  and  superintend  them  in  person.  If  all  were  to 
have  the  right  of  superintendence  the  schools  could  not  be 
good  ones.  The  making  of  courses  of  study,  and  the  appoint- 
ment and  supervision  of  teachers,  cannot  be  done  by  popular 
vote.  Is  democracy  to  be  put  to  harder  tests  than  more  con- 
solidated forms  of  government,  and  still  expected  to  succeed  ? 
A democracy  determines  through  its  established  and  repre- 
sentative assemblages  what  shall  be  done.  It  may  have  to 
leave  some  things  to  the  discretion  of  its  representatives.  It 
will  leave  no  more  to  discretion  than  the  circumstances  re- 
quire. When  it  has  decided  just  what  shall  be  done,  it  will 
set  one  man  to  do  it  if  one  man  can  do  it.  It  will  not  set 
more  than  one  man  to  execute  its  will,  or  more  than  one  man 
to  execute  such  part  of  its  will  as  one  man  can  execute,  be- 
cause it  wants  to  give  credit  for  doing  things  well  and  it  wants 
to  hold  someone  responsible  if  the  thing  is  not  done  at  all  or 
is  not  well  done.  We  have  learned,  out  of  abundant  expe- 
rience, that  the  citizens’  rights  in  the  schools  are  not  secure 
unless  they  have  a legal  organization  suited  to  conditions 
which  they  have  developed,  unless  specified  things  are  to  be 
done,  and  unless,  in  case  those  things  are  not  done  in  the 
way  democracy  has  directed,  the  citizen  may  go  down  street 
and  point  his  finger  right  at  the  man  whose  dereliction  is 
overthrowing  the  popular  will,  and  robbing  him  of  his  citizen’s 
right. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION 

In  all  this  discussion  I have  not  yet  touched  upon  one 
point  which  is  perhaps  crucial  in  the  whole  matter.  That  is 
the  manner  of  choosing  the  Board  of  Education.  What  is  to 
be  the  method  of  appointment  which  will  ensure  good  men 
who  are  adapted  to  such  a service  ? I am  sure  I do  not 
know.  The  best  intelligence  of  a community  will  have  to 
settle  that  and  sue  at  the  bar  of  the  legislature  and  take  its 
chances. 

Yet  much  will  depend  upon  the  declared  functions  of  the 
school  board  and  the  common  thought  over  the  whole  matter. 

18 


If  the  board  is  not  to  make  any  appointments  the  mere 
patronage  hunters  will  lose  interest  in  it.  If  it  does  not  have 
the  making  and  execution  of  contracts  the  mere  plunderers 
will  have  small  use  for  it.  If  it  is  to  be  a small  body  and  do 
its  business  in  quiet  tones  while  sitting  around  a council  table, 
the  oratorical  nuisances  who  are  everlastingly  talking  to  the 
galleries  are  hardly  likely  to  gravitate  to  it.  If  it  is  not 
charged  with  managing  teachers  or  with  the  review  of  the 
acts  of  superintendents  up  to  the  time  when  they  are  put  upon 
trial  for  incompetency  or  malfeasance,  then  the  disgruntled  or 
the  degenerates  are  not  likely  to  assail  the  members  much, 
and  if  they  do  the  board  is  hardly  likely  to  fall  down  and 
worship  them  for  the  only  reason  that  they  have  votes. 

The  men  who  draw  statutes  are  lawyers.  Lawyers  are 
too  apt  to  regard  only  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  law.  They 
are  not  much  given  to  sentiment  and  too  often  lose  sight  of 
the  spirit  of  the  law.  At  least  they  are  too  prone  to  think 
that  it  is  unlawyerlike  to  say  much  about  that  in  legal  forms. 
I think  if  there  were  more  in  school  statutes  to  express  the 
spirit  and  purpose,  that  spirit  and  purpose  would  be  carried 
out  more  fully  in  their  execution.  This  would  more  certainly 
be  so  when  their  execution  depends  upon  people  who  are  not 
lawyers.  And  accordingly  I have  the  idea  that  if  the  law 
should  express  with  some  fulness  the  qualities  which  are  ex- 
pected in  a school  board  and  place  the  responsibility  of  ap- 
pointment upon  a single  officer  who  in  some  sense  represents 
all  the  interests  of  the  community,  better  results  are  likely  to 
be  attained  than  will  be  reached  in  any  other  way. 

This  much  I do  know,  a city  school  system  needs  peace 
and  quietness  and  stability  and  steadiness.  It  is  sensitive  to 
excitement  and  uproar.  If  it  cannot  call  to  its  highest  service 
men  who  can  bring  substance  and  confidence  to  it  there  is 
small  hope  of  very  exceptional  results. 


19 


CONCLUSION 

Coming  to  a conclusion,  the  thought  comes  to  me  that 
possibly  I have  assumed  too  much  knowledge  of  the  school 
work  of  this  great  city.  I know,  only  in  a general  way,  of 
the  more  important  facts  touching  the  school  organization  of 
the  city.  This  little  knowledge  may  have  proved  a dangerous 
thing.  But  I did  not  begin  to  think  of  such  matters  only  a 
day  or  two  ago,  and  I have  never  known  a case  where  the 
general  plan  of  organization  was  anything  like  what  it  is  here 
without  finding  much  demoralization  and  dissatisfaction  in  the 
teaching  force  and  much  worthless  work  in  the  schools.  The 
plan  of  organization  is  far  from  being  everything  in  a great 
school  system,  but  a system  of  government  which  is  vicious 
or  one  which  is  weak  because  outgrown  is  prohibitive  of  the 
best  spirit  and  of  first  excellence  in  the  work  of  the  schools. 
Not  much  in  the  way  of  better  things  can  be  accomplished 
until  there  is  a plan  of  school  government  which  will  give  to 
good  and  experienced  administrators  the  power  to  drive  out 
the  plunderers  and  place  seekers  on  the  one  hand,  while  on 
the  other  they  may  lay  out  work  which  is  balanced,  teach  it 
scientifically,  and  give  the  community’s  commendation  to  the 
men  and  women  who  render  it  an  unselfish  and  a meritorious 
public  service. 

And  I may  add  that  even  when  such  a form  of  govern- 
ment is  established  not  much  will  be  accomplished  until  it  is 
in  the  hands  of  men  and  women  who  have  the  experience 
and  the  moral  strength  to  execute  it  without  fear  or  favor,  but 
with  full  justice,  with  a sane  outlook,  with  a comprehensive 
grasp  upon  the  heaviest  and  most  imperative  task  of  demo- 
cratic government. 

It  is  upon  this  knowledge  that  I have  proceeded.  And 
I prefer  to  say  specifically  that  I should  grieve  to  think  that 
the  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Philadelphia,  whose  learning 
and  character  I have  respected  and  whose  pleasant  acquaint- 
ance I have  cherished  these  many  years,  or  any  of  the  good 
and  conscientious  teachers  of  the  city,  should  construe  any- 
thing that  has  been  said  into  a reflection  upon  them.  What 


20 


they  have  done,  and  surely  it  has  been  much,  should  be 
doubly  to  their  credit  because  accomplished  in  spite  of  the 
many  influences  which  have  hindered  rather  than  helped  the 
always  burdensome  work  of  the  schools. 

This  is  a great,  a very  great  city.  It  has  a high  and  an 
honored  place  in  the  esteem  of  all  Americans.  It  has  great 
business  enterprises.  It  has  noble  institutions.  It  has  end- 
less streets  of  comfortable  and  beautiful  homes.  It  is  rich, 
very  rich  in  historic  reminiscence  and  significance.  Com- 
merce and  wealth  and  art  and  letters  and  song  and  story 
abound  here.  But  I know,  and  you  know,  this  is  but  a one- 
sided view  of  the  city’s  life.  Indeed  these  very  things  keep 
the  best  men  and  women  of  the  city  from  seeing  and  knowing 
the  other  side,  or  from  doing  what  they  might  do  very  effect- 
ually to  help  all  sides  find  the  greatest  good  in  our  demo- 
cratic and  cosmopolitan  life. 

The  largest  interests  this  thrifty  city  has  center  in  its 
boys  and  girls.  They  will,  before  we  know  it,  be  giving  sub- 
stance to  its  business,  and  tone  to  its  spirit  and  character  to 
its  public  life.  They  are  entitled  to  be  studied  scientifically, 
and  managed  with  gentility,  and  inspired  to  ambitious  and 
noble  things.  Men  and  women  with  small  realization  of  a 
teacher’s  responsibility,  with  an  exploded  and  outlawed  notion 
of  a teacher’s  functions,  are  not  to  terrify  them  with  fuming 
and  strutting  and  scolding  and  thrashing.  Their  self-activi- 
ties are  to  be  encouraged  and  directed.  They  are  to  have 
the  best  in  literature,  and  their  imagination  is  to  be  excited. 
Companionship  is  to  be  sought  and  confidence  established. 
They  are  to  be  given  work  they  may  like  to  do.  Their 
pleasure  is  to  be  studied  and  their  enthusiasm  rewarded. 
They  are  to  do  things  with  their  hands  and  learn  the  satisfac- 
tion of  actual  accomplishment.  They  are  not  to  have  all  the 
facts  it  may  ever  be  well  for  them  to  know  stuffed  into  them  ; 
the  taste  for  information,  the  power  to  do  are  to  be  started 
and  the  rest  will  take  care  of  itself.  The  slow  are  to  have 
special  help  ; the  bright  are  not  to  be  kept  eight  years  doing 
things  which  they  might  just  as  well  do  in  six.  What  they 


21 


know  is  not  to  be  settled  by  a superintendent’s  written  exam- 
ination alone.  They  are  to  have  false  notions  of  the  worth  of 
the  individual  man  and  of  the  relations  of  the  individual  to 
the  mass  taken  out  of  them.  They  are  to  be  taught  tolera- 
tion, the  great  and  imperative  lesson  of  religious,  political,  in- 
dustrial and  social  toleration  is  to  sink  deep  into  their  souls 
through  an  association  which  is  wholesome  and  a competi- 
tion which  calls  out  the  best  they  have.  Shams  are  to  be 
ridiculed.  The  truth  is  to  be  sought ; if  it  can  be  brought 
out  through  the  agency  of  the  child  so  much  the  better. 
Culture  is  not  to  be  put  above  truth  and  strength.  Culture 
alone  does  not  make  for  accomplishment.  Work  is  cultur- 
ing. Character  grows  where  truth  is  the  criterion  and  where 
labor  is  dignified.  All  these  things  go  to  the  enrichment  of 
the  city.  They  are  all  imperative  to  the  stability  of  the  State. 

It  is  all  to  be  done  by  teachers,  by  thousands  of  capable 
and  right  spirited  teachers.  The  highest  rights  of  citizens  are 
ignored  if  there  are  some  who  cannot  manage  and  others  who 
cannot  teach.  Ah  ! school  administration  is  not  a pastime. 
Perhaps  we  shall  never  gain  our  ideal,  but  we  shall  go  to  the 
bad  unless  we  have  it  and  work  for  it.  The  burden  is  upon 
constitutional  government.  Kings  may  bear  it,  through  the 
exercise  of  arbitrary  power  and  having  in  view  only  the  nar- 
row ends  of  the  kingship,  very  easily.  But  the  people  of  a 
democracy  must  expect  to  find  it  the  most  delicate  and  exact- 
ing and  imperative  responsibility  which  weighs  upon  their 
public  life.  And  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  people  of 
one  of  the  great  cities  in  such  a democracy  must  come  to 
know  that  the  way  in  which  they  meet  it  will  be  proof  of  the 
power  of  the  democracy  to  do,  and  perhaps  the  proof  of  the 
right  of  the  democracy  to  be. 


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